Sat 11 Aug 2007
Inquiry: Gothic romantic mystery writer THERESA CHARLES.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Collecting , Crime Fiction IV , Inquiries[18] Comments
Donna Frey left a comment on my blog entry about gothic romantic mystery paperbacks a while back, and I thought it might be more useful if posted my reply as a new blog entry, instead of leaving it hidden where no one would find it.
Here’s what Donna asked:
Donna, you’re not alone in liking the gothics that Theresa Charles wrote. I’ve been asked a few times before to be on the lookout for her books by people trying to find them. (They’re not all that difficult to come across, but again there must be a demand for them. The asking prices online start around $4.00, which as the low end price for a gothic, is rather high.)
As far as a biography is concerned, technically speaking, there is or was no “Theresa Charles.” That was the joint pen name of two British authors, Irene Maude Swatridge and Charles John Swatridge, neither no longer living. Other than their names, though, I’ve never found much of anything more about them. I assume they are were a married couple, but of course this doesn’t mean that they were. Irene also wrote a few books on her own, using a pair of other pen names. I’ll list the titles below.
You’re right in being wary of buying any books by Theresa Charles without knowing more about them. A lot of the books under her name appear to have been straight romances, including (yes) Doctor-Nurse affairs. The list of titles below are from Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin. With one possible (and obvious) exception, these would be your best bets as books to start hunting down. [UK = British edition.]
CHARLES, THERESA; pseudonym of Irene Maude Swatridge & Charles John Swatridge; other pseudonyms: Leslie Lance & Jan Tempest
* The Burning Beacon (Cassell, UK, 1956, hc) Lancer, 1966.
* Fairer Than She (Cassell, UK, 1953, hc) Dell, 1968.
* Happy Now I Go (Longman[s], UK, 1947, hc) U.S. title: Dark Legacy. Dell, 1968.
* House on the Rocks (Hale, UK, 1962, hc) Paperback Library, 1966.
* The Man for Me (Hale, UK, 1965, hc) U.S. title: The Shrouded Tower. Ace, 1966.
* Nurse Alice in Love (Hale, UK, 1964, hc) U.S. title: Lady in the Mist. Ace, 1966.
* Proud Citadel (Hale, UK, 1967, hc) Dell, 1967.
* Widower’s Wife (Hale, UK, 1963, hc) U.S. title: Return to Terror. Paperback Library, 1966.
LANCE, LESLIE; pseudonym of Irene Maude Swatridge; other pseudonyms: Theresa Charles & Jan Tempest
* The Bride of Emersham (Pyramid, 1967, pb) British title?
* Dark Stranger (Low, UK, 1946, hc)
* The Girl in the Mauve Mini (Hale, UK, 1979, hc)
* The House in the Woods (Ace, 1973, pb) British title?
TEMPEST, JAN; pseudonym of Irene Maude Swatridge; other pseudonyms: Theresa Charles & Leslie Lance
* House of the Pines (Mills, UK, 1946, hc) Ace, 1968.
I hope this helps!
August 11th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Dear Steve, thanks for your reply to my Theresa Charles/gothic romance questions. Yes! Your answers were a big help. Whoever the Swatridges were, they wrote seamlessly together. I can usually tell when a man writes from a woman’s point of view…it’s sometimes not quite right. I assume books written by women, purporting to be from a man’s viewpoint, have the same problem. Don’t know. Anyway. Will haunt the local second-hand bookstores and maybe find a few treasures.
August 19th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
According to my researches Leslie Lance was primarily the pseudonym of Charles John Swatridge (1906-64) and taken over by his wife Irene (1904-88)when he died, Though of course it is probable that she had an imput in the earlier titles. But what I have not been able to determine is which one is the last one that might be called his. Neither publisher or agent can help, and I have no idea if there are any descendants.
August 20th, 2007 at 1:15 am
I am looking for a book penned by Theresa Charles with the heroine’s name as Moira.
I read this book when I was 13 and would love to give this book to my daughter later in life due to the fact, I named her after this book.
Could you please help?
I understand the pseudonym info but this book was written under Theresa Charles name.
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:13 pm
[…] This profile came as the result of an inquiry from Donna Frey, who asked – Steve, Thanks again for your help with identifying the real “Theresa Charles“. May I impose on you again? I think you might be more into true mystery and suspense writing than I am, but I can’t find an answer anywhere to another “gothic” mystery writer. This is a real puzzle. Janet Louise Roberts, a prolific writer who was billed as “the mistress of romantic mystery,” also wrote under the names Janet Radcliffe, Rebecca Danton, and Louisa Bronte. I think she lived 1925-1984, maybe. But I can’t find one other fact about this woman. Where did she live? Was she American? What was her life like? She had a distinctive style, so I don’t think the publisher was paying different writers to create under that name. Can you, or your interested readers, help? Thanks. Donna […]
March 24th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Just came across this website while trying ot find out more aobut the books my friend wrote!
I knew “Jan” Swatridge and her husband Charles.they were very good friends to me.
I was staying with them when Charles died,and it was something I shall never forget.They were a very close couple.
They had a farm in Devon,and only yesterday I was re reading one of her books,and realised that I recognised the description of the road down to a farm as being the description of the road down to their own farm!!
I’m really glad to hear of other folk who also enjoyed,and still remember, her/their,books!
May 6th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
As I was searching for Theresa Charles, the author, I came accross this site. I also would have liked to know more about her.
I find that the books by (pseudonym) “Theresa Charles” are very well written, and I believe all of them contain a mystery of some kind. The other books by the same author, but by other pseudonyms, vary from very good to not so readable.
It seems to me that it is easier to find Theresa Charles books in French, Dutch or German than in English.
By the way I would like to add more of Theresa Charles’ books (very readable) to the mystery list:
Castle Kelpiesloch *)
The Shadowy Third
My only love
My enemy and I *) expensive
Looking for love
No easier road to love
Nurse by accident
The distant drum
The kinder love *)
Therefore must be loved *)
From fairest flowers *)
At a touch I yield *) very expensive
*) can be found on the http://www.usedbooksearch.co.uk/
November 11th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I was searching for information on Theresa Charles when I arrived to this website.
My parentes owned one of her books and at the age of 14 I read and totally fell in love with it, it was My Only Love. After that I have re-read it numerous times…
I would like to buy more of her books but I think it’s really hard to do so…
November 28th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
So glad to have found this website and I too am looking to obtain their books, preferrably in hardback. Fairer Than She was THE best, but Lady in the Mist (or Nurse Alice in Love) was also another favorite.
December 7th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
[…] Swatridge: Leslie Lance & Jan Tempest. For a short discussion of this author’s books, see this earlier post on the Mystery*File […]
January 6th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Have come on here by chance, also trying to research ‘Theresa Charles’. I have a hardback of hers entitled ‘My True Love’, which I have just finished reading. The heroine is Mercy and it features an Uncle Jonah. If anyone here would like it, I will send it for £5.60 to cover packing and firstclass post.Please contact me on Facebook Beverley Raw or email beverleyraw@btinternet.com.
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:37 am
bonjour et merci de m’aider si possible .J’adore les romans de Theresa charles et j’ignorais son deces .Je suis à la recherche depuis plusieurs années d’un de ses livres(titre ?)maisje sais que l’histoire se déroule en angleterre entre l’heroine qui s’appelle AMORET et son mari pianiste de renommée mondiale (Philippe ?)à la fin ….naissance de jumeaux.Merci je n’en sais pas plus.linette0466
August 8th, 2009 at 4:35 am
I’m searching for a copy of The Distant Drum by Theresa Charles, for a relative wh read it at school when it was first published. Does anybody know of a copy
May 29th, 2010 at 9:13 am
Driole, I’ve read that one – in Norwegian. In English it is called My Enemy and I.
September 17th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
I loved to read her in Danish are not many books translated only 13, but then there are very many have been translated into Norwegian as I’ve enjoyed reading!
She is very popurlær in Norway!
Indra
January 20th, 2011 at 5:44 pm
The cheapest you can buy “Fairer than She” in the first paperback Dell printing is $30 for an acceptable copy–Fine copies go for as much as $200. It’s very rare.
May 22nd, 2011 at 8:19 pm
I have what I call her three best novels and have had them since the 60’s. I have Fairer than She, Dark Legacy and Lady in the Mist. I have read them every so often and I treasure them a great deal. I treat them with kid gloves not knowing if I would every be able to replace them. I am glad I am not the only one to think these we her best. I always looks in every used book store I go to with hopes I will find some of her books, but alas have never found any!
June 4th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
I am so happy to find this website as well! I have a Jan Tempest book, House of the Pines, which I treasure dearly. In my search for a hard copy I found this site. Now I will be happily looking for Theresa Charles books which I have never read…thank you everyone! By the way, if anyone has a hard copy of House of the Pines available for sale, please let me know. Many thanks!
February 1st, 2015 at 7:38 pm
My mom introduced me to Theresa Charles when I was a teenager. I fell in love with her writing and have enjoyed her books over and over; I usually re-read her books one a year or so. Especially like Fairer Than She, The Shrouded Tower, Nurse Alice in Love and Dark Legacy. My mom always talked about the English movie, Her Paneled Door. I have searched and searched for a copy of the movie. At one point, I found a copy for sale on reel. I was able to transfer it to DVD. I loved seeing the movie at last. My daughter helped me make this happen because she also became a lover of Theresa Charles novels. I had to buy new copies of some of my books because she couldn’t part with them. My mom left us a loving legacy. Glad to see that there are other readers out there that still remember her.